a believing heart
by laikaspeaks
Summary: Their second year at Luna Nova, a patrolling Diana stumbles across Akko performing for the school's faeries.
1. your magic

"Are you ready? I said, are you ready?"

Diana abandoned her usual patrol route almost before she consciously recognized the voice. The source was a little off the beaten path, as most of the students didn't bother going to the vegetable gardens and greenhouses outside of required classes. The gate was unlocked so she let herself in, but as she rounded the corner of the tool shed she paused in surprise, taken aback by the small crowd of faeries gathered there. Most were the usual trolls and imps in their bright orange safety uniforms, but there were also a smattering of fire spirits, and even a handful of the gnarled plant spirits that tended to the gardens.

Akko twirled on the low, broad wall separating the gardens from the path to the greenhouse, her mud-flecked skirt fanning out like a flower. Gouts of sparks rained from her upraised wand. It was simple magic – meant for children – but it became something else in her hands. The magic glowed, it danced, she gathered fistfuls of the sparks and flung them to the sky as if they were harmless fireflies. She didn't know she shouldn't be able to, and so she just did.

"Welcome to Akko's super secret magic show!" The sparks burst into butterflies, spiraling upward until they vanished into the rose-tinted sky. An homage to the Pappiliodya, perhaps?

Dusk was making the shadows draw long, but Diana found herself leaning against the wall of the shed, murmuring a spell that would make the eye slide right past. She should be scolding the other girl for staying on the grounds this late, but she was curious. She wanted to see what Akko was doing with her time if she wasn't studying.

Most of the time Akko looked more like a newborn colt, all elbows and knees and bright brown eyes. She ran in sputters and starts, stumbles and half falls. Bouncing to her feet as if she were never injured. Diana couldn't count the times scraped knees peeked out from under Akko's uniform skirt, or she saw Lotte pasting fresh bandages on the girl's face and arms over lunch. Yet when Akko was performing Diana could the beginnings of grace in the girl. She moved differently, with a confidence and control she didn't show in any of her classes.

Of course Akko's performance wasn't over. She played games with light and shadow, sleight of hand and outright illusion, some clearly drawn from Shiny Chariot and others of her own invention. Each new revelation made Akko's audience of faeries applaud with renewed vigor, rising to a dull roar when she managed to pull a confused fire spirit out of her hat. With her bare hand, of all things.

"Now where did that come from?" Akko gasped in feigned surprise, sticking her face into the hat and coming out wailing with a faintly glowing crab clinging to her nose. It ended in tears of course – and a troll gently tugging the angry crustacean from her nose - but before that there was something there.

"Man," she could hear Akko wail even from this distance, "I'm never gonna get that one right."

A rabbit made of solid light hopped lazily out of her dropped hat to graze on a mound of clover, and Akko's crocodile tears quickly turned to laughter. The faeries laughed with her, drawn in by her delight. Diana shifted against the wall for the first time, abruptly realizing that her legs had fallen asleep. Like this, Akko all-but had stars in her eyes. Even Diana couldn't deny that it made her heart race. There was an artistry to Akko's magic, something more alive than the power that jumped so obediently to Diana's wand. And she saw it so rarely. The light in Akko's eyes so often went out when she entered the room, jokes and laughter cut short by her mere presence.

Diana's hand tightened around her wand. The memory made her chest go tight. She never resented being an authority figure so thoroughly.

Akko stood up and dusted herself off, somehow making even more of a mess of herself. Then she bowed deeply, with so many flourishes it had to be slightly self-depreciating. "Thank you, Thank youuuu, you were a beautiful audience." Of course, they were glad to give her their attention – it was no secret she was their favorite among the students after she joined their strike. The fact that the success of the strike had nothing to do with her didn't seem to matter. They buffeted her with cheerful pats and a cacophony of affectionate noises anyway.

"Okay, okay guys you're gonna kill me! I've gotta get to bed before the teachers have me scrubbing out every cauldron on the grounds." Akko pulled such a face on that last part. She was never going to learn to be a proper Luna Nova lady was she?

Diana slipped away once she was certain Akko was returning to the school. With a little luck, Akko would make it back to her room before the last call for lights out. There was no need to intervene.

It followed her through the rest of her patrol - down dark corridors and up creaking stairs. Even when she closed her eyes in her own bed, Diana could still see the afterimage of that light. Later she would laugh at her own foolishness. In that time and place Diana couldn't name the flutter in her chest any more than Akko could recognize magic's ebb and flow by instinct alone. How could Diana Cavendish, the brightest star in any room, know what it was to be dazzled?


	2. it has to be seen to be believed

That Diana was just – just too good! There was _no way_ someone could be perfect, but Diana seemed to be giving it her best shot. And guess what? Her best shot was perfect. It was super irritating. Akko ran both hands through her already ruffled hair, puffing up her cheeks with air and rolling this way and that on her bed. Pages covered with her cramped, harried writing scattered in every direction unnoticed. By the time Akko was done with her little fit she was hanging upside down off the edge of her bed with her pillow clutched to her chest.

Normally Diana's perfection didn't bother Akko that much, but she'd exploded herself yet again during potions and yet again Diana righted what seemed like an impossible situation with a cool glance and a wave of her wand.

It was just -! Akko dragged her pillow over her face and growled helplessly into it. At this point she was confident enough in her own abilities – or at least in her own stubbornness – that Hannah and Barbara's barbs didn't hurt as much. It stung more every time Diana dismissed her, every time the other girl looked at her like she _just didn't measure up_. She didn't even bother scolding Akko when she messed up anymore. It was just recently that it started, as if Diana finally gave up on Akko and decided to save her breath. It hurt more than she expected.

Akko pulled the pillow from her face and glanced at the open window, mentally calculating the angle of the sun… yeah, she had enough time. A trip to the training rooms was just what she needed. She just needed to burn off some energy, that was all. Then she could focus on transcribing her notes. Hopefully.

Thankfully the hallways weren't too crowded this time of evening. Most students were in the showers or already in their rooms, so it was easy for Akko to sneak to her training room unseen.

Akko's favorite training room was in one of the unused areas of the school, where rows upon rows of classrooms stood empty since Luna Nova's golden age. Only spider webs and echoes were left. It made Akko super sad if she thought about it too hard. She'd found "her" training room late in her first year after losing a bet with Sucy – Spending the night in an abandoned wing was just too harsh! - and it became her practice area of choice. It was the only training room in the wing with wards still strong enough to protect the walls from damage, and it was isolated enough that Hannah and Barbara were unlikely to stumble upon Akko while she was training.

Lotte and Sucy were in on the secret, but they never showed any interest in going there when a closer room would serve as well.

She turned the corner and immediately jerked back behind the door frame, dropping into a crouch on instinct. Her eyes had to be wide as saucers as she peered into the room. Diana was settled into something that reminded Akko of a fencer's stance, her body angled to the side with one foot further forward than the other, her wand upraised in one hand. Her cloak, vest and hat were discarded on a nearby bench and her hair was bound back into a neat ponytail.

Diana took a deep breath as her eyes slid closed, then released it slowly.

Then she started moving, flowing into different poses that picked up speed as she went. Akko could hear her muttering spells under her breath, each movement punctuated with a flash of light and a sharp crack. Akko didn't even know what she was looking at, but even she could tell that it was impressive.

Then Diana stopped abruptly, her free hand curling into a fist.

That same pose. A slow, deep breath. Then Diana started again.

She repeated the form enough times that Akko started recognizing minor corrections to the routine: a movement that gained more snap, an arm or leg lifted higher, a spell flung at a dummy with a touch more precision. Mistakes… and so many. Diana never faltered though, never seemed to react with frustration beyond a quiet huff or a subtle tightening of her jaw. It was almost unfair how composed she was even now. Now that Akko thought of it, she never saw Diana practice with the other students, or even practice at all beyond reading mountains of textbooks in the library. But she had to practice for real at some point didn't she?

Akko didn't move or breathe and she wasn't sure if it was that she didn't want to be caught watching or because she simply couldn't tear her eyes away.

"I trust you're gaining something by observing?"

A voice dry as the Sahara snapped Akko out of her reverie to find Diana's blue eyes focused directly on hers, face flushed with heat and chest rising and falling with exertion. Diana let out a huff, blowing some stray hairs out of her face. Akko was apologizing before her brain caught up with her mouth and she wasn't even sure she was apologizing about.

Diana held up a hand to cut off her babbling, already looking away. "If you aren't here to deliver a message I must ask you leave. I need to focus."

That set off an odd pang in Akko's chest. During last year's Samhain festival Akko demanded that Diana watch her succeed. Demanded that Diana _look_ for once in her life. Gradually, so slowly that Akko almost didn't notice, what Diana saw when she looked at Akko started to matter.

"No way!" Diana's eyes shot back to hers, widening slightly with surprise, and hot elation overflowed Akko's chest. There really wasn't anything as good as Diana losing her cool. Akko's hands curled into fists, feet planting a shoulder-width apart. "This isn't a private classroom, so I'm allowed to use it just as much as you!"

She stomped past and selected one of the empty circles, refusing to look back to gauge Diana's reaction.

The training room was a long rectangle easily as big as the ballroom of the Hanbridge mansion, with floors of golden planks inlaid with six copies of the school crest in what Akko suspected was naturally purple-tinted wood. Each crest served as a separate training ring, with a shimmering purple dome over the top that was just visible in Akko's peripheral vision. The tall, narrow windows lining the far side of the room were protected by a similar barrier, much to Akko's relief the first time she misfired a _murowa_ spell.

Akko flicked her own wand open, settling into a stance and closing her eyes. She could smell the burning ozone from Diana's spells, feel the thrum of the ley lines under her feet. It moved her to tears the first time she sensed them like a proper witch. More than ever she was determined to preserve magic, the heart of the world that beat alongside her own.

At her back Akko heard a sharp crack – Diana's form beginning once again. Her small victory shivered up and down her spine. Akko only just resisted the urge to giggle, instead biting the inside of her cheek to force herself to focus on the task at hand. She would prove herself to the professors, to Shiny Chariot, to Diana.

 _Just watch me._


	3. what we believe

Roughly half an hour before Akko barged into the _supposedly_ secret training room Diana commandeered for herself, Finnelan informed Diana that she had an advanced speed-casting evaluation in a fortnight. Fortunately Hannah and Barbara were competent enough to cover some of her less urgent duties so she could squeeze in some practical practice. She didn't expect to end up sharing the room with Akko of all people, but she could make it work. She always did.

By the third day it only took thirty seconds for her to hit ten targets in quick succession. At that point her routine became mostly concerned with endurance and accuracy, which meant long hours of grueling work to increase her stamina. The problem was that she couldn't seem to focus. Lack of focus led to bad spells as Akko could attest.

Which was incidentally why Diana ended up covertly watching Akko training over a hefty textbook.

For the last several days Akko was still there when Diana left to patrol, and only grunted at reminders that the last lights-out call was in an hour. She just kept pounding away at the exact same spell, brows furrowed and jaw set stubbornly. Over the last year Diana had noticed a hundred things Akko was doing wrong with her spellcasting, but she realized a long time ago she didn't have enough hours in the day to tutor every student.

There was, however, a big difference between Akko and the other students. One that Diana was reluctant to acknowledge but couldn't deny any longer.

During the day Akko struggled alone. If the first explanation failed to suffice the professors reacted only with scorn. More than a few punished the girl for the cheek of getting frustrated. The fact made Diana's throat close with shame, but their first year she hadn't even considered this a cruelty. The ridicule was merely the result of Akko's disrespect for Luna Nova and their great witch heritage. Become the next Shiny Chariot? It was a child's dream pursued with a child's lack of conviction. Better that she give up and save herself the embarrassment.

Diana lowered her eyes, focusing instead on the same sentence she read ten times already. This silly girl was troubling Diana to the point she couldn't even focus on work, and it irritated her to no end.

But she couldn't go back to the time before she saw Akko practicing with a focus that rivaled her own. The ancient and noble name Cavendish weighed on Diana's shoulders since before she could remember. There were certain expectations. Yet Diana also had high expectations of herself. She couldn't condone Akko's goals, but neither could she overlook depriving a student of proper instruction.

Every time their classmates laughed Akko to silence Diana was struck again with the image of Akko tossing sparks into the night sky, every line of her buoyant with laughter.

* * *

Tears prickled at Akko's eyes. According to Professor Finnegan this was a spell she should already know, but no amount of work seemed to do her any good. If she didn't manage this before the end of the week, she would probably be in trouble all over again. The row of palm-sized black stones hovered mockingly at eye level despite all her efforts. She lashed out with her wand, spitting out the spell like a curse. Nothing.

"That's not right."

"W-what? What?" A startled fumble sent Akko's wand pinwheeling through the air. She only just managed to get it back into her hands before it hit the ground. She pun to face Diana and found the other girl directly behind her, and Akko couldn't help but fidget under her laser-focused eyes. For the last week Diana hadn't acknowledged her presence other than to ask her to lower her voice now and again, or suggest that she move further away while Diana practiced a touchy spell.

"No, it's more like this." Diana lifted her own wand as an example. She demonstrated the firm grip and proper movement in slow motion, emphasizing each step. The extra motion Akko saw during the Professor's rapid-fire demonstration came from keeping the shoulder loose and a firm downward flick of the wrist. Akko never would have noticed if Diana hadn't pointed it out.

"Your pronunciation is also incorrect. This spell contains a long vowel: Fac- _toom_."

A week ago Akko would have sooner eaten a random mushroom from Sucy's collection, no matter how much she secretly respected Diana. Then again, a week ago she hadn't spent a week training in the same semi-secret room. She wouldn't have expected Diana to correct her without any trace of disdain.

"Factoom." Akko repeated finally. Diana nodded with approval. Akko grinned in response, but Diana was already turning to return to her preferred circle.

Diana's was the nearest to the windows, which made sense once Akko realized she kept a small stash of textbooks hidden somewhere in this room. Most of the lamps in this area of the school ran out of the magic that powered them long ago, thus the need for sunlight to read the tiny handwritten print. Diana could have easily summoned a spirit to light her book if nothing else. Lotte did all the time during late-night study sessions. Diana never did.

As Akko watched her go, the sun pouring through the windows cast her hair in a blaze of gold.

Akko hurriedly returned to her own work. She shoved an intrusive memory out of mind and focused on the power of the leylines. When she waited quietly she could feel the magic in her heart echoing the greater power. Professor Ursula used a lot of different metaphors to describe it, but Akko hadn't fully understood until she felt it herself.

"Factum est!" Akko used the commanding flick that Diana showed her, and the first of the hovering stones dropped to the floor with a clatter.

In that instant everything froze. Did she just - on the first try?

"Yay!" Akko punched the air and did a little dance. Hours of effort and frustration melted away with victory singing through her veins. She wanted to share it with someone, anyone… _everyone._ "Diana, Diana look! I did it!"

Diana lifted her gaze from the book she was leafing through. "Did you? Well done."

Even that understated praise made Akko's cheeks warm, she shuffled in place and preened. She let down her guard just long enough for the sun to come from behind a cloud.

With the windows at her back Diana was outlined in light, and like a slap to the face Akko was reminded of _that day_. It was only a glimpse when one of her classes let out a bit later than usual. Diana probably expected to have the training room to herself for the evening.

Akko saw something she wasn't supposed to see: Diana sitting in the window with face lifted to the last rays of the sun, an open book abandoned in her lap. Her face smooth and calm with a hint of a smile around her lips and at the corners of her closed eyes, a long shadow cast behind her on the floor. She looked like – like something from a movie or maybe a painting, something fancy from a museum. Of course, she snapped back to her normal sharp self once Akko stubbed her toe on a bench cause she wasn't watching where she was going.

Akko hadn't been able to forget it, no matter how she tried.

* * *

A/N: It seems to me like Akko gets stuck doing the same thing over and over by brute force without really asking herself what she's doing wrong. And sometimes the solution is probably stupidly simple. Definitely not speaking from personal experience.


	4. lessons in imagination

"Show me the stance for this spell."

Akko peered at the book, biting her lip in concentration. After a long moment, she arranged herself in a vague approximation of the pose, her wand arm extended as if to fling a spell while her other was lifted and held in front of her body at an angle. It was a passable attempt. Over the last week she had improved quite a bit in terms of remembering spells and the motions that accompanied them. Diana was fairly sure that she'd be fine after Diana's evenings were too busy for these little practice sessions.

"That's close, but not quite correct. Your free arm needs to be more resolute, as if you're attempting to block with it. Widen your stance a bit more but remember you need to be light on your feet." Diana gripped Akko's arm and tugged it into the correct position, even going as far as to rearrange her hand on her wand. Akko's hands were warmer than expected, she noted, and both the backs of her hands and upper arms were covered with little silvery scars. That hot beaker she exploded late in their first year? That was the likely cause. For all the mundane injuries magic could heal, it was far more difficult to deal with the aftereffects of magic itself.

Akko shivered and whined. "Your hands are cold."

"I'm sorry," Diana said with a wry twist to her lips, "Next time I'll be certain to warm them before touching you."

"Can you do that?" Akko's eyes were bright with interest, clearly assuming Diana meant some sort of spell. She was ever curious, which was probably why she was constantly in trouble.

"No." Yes, technically, but Diana wasn't going to do any such thing.

"Aww."

Akko slumped a little, but straightened again when Diana tapped the small of her back. "Keep your back straight!"

"Whyyyyy?"

Diana sniffed, "Good posture is important."

"What does it have to do with casting good spells?"

"Nothing, but it does prevent you from hunching like a werewolf."

Akko pouted, absurdly crossing her arms over her chest and purposefully hunching her back. Honestly, was she a child? Diana laughed into her hand, glad that Akko was turned away so she couldn't see. Akko's personality was the oddest combination of grating and endearing Diana ever had the pleasure to interact with. And it truly was a pleasure, despite the fact more than a few of their peers would call this a waste of her time. She was surprised to discover she enjoyed teaching, and that Akko was an eager student when her attention was engaged.

"I don't have much time this evening, Akko. Please focus."

That seemed to snap Akko out of her funk. She turned to meet Diana's eyes, gaze warm enough to do strange things to Diana's heart. There was an uncharacteristic hesitance to her sheepish smile. "Sorry, Diana. I know you've got lots of important things to do."

That shame was usually carefully hidden, but Diana was nothing else if not a master of reading subtleties of expression. It cut her to the bone every time she saw that emotion cross Akko's face. Did Akko think she didn't deserve the help? Diana was afraid to ask. There were many burdens she bore because of her family name, but this one truly felt like her fault. "…If I had anywhere else to be, you can rest assured I would be there."

Diana didn't give Akko a chance to respond, but instead plowed into the rest of the lesson. "Now that your posture is correct, let's see you try the spell. You remember how to cast the shield spell? This time you focus it to only cover your free arm. This allows you to both block and continue casting spells. The spell follows the same principle: focus on your internal power, and project it as an external manifestation of your will."

Akko just looked at her blankly.

Diana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose to stave off an oncoming headache. "Imagine the shield _really hard_ , Akko."

"Didn't have to say it like that." Akko muttered, but she closed her eyes dutifully. Diana could feel beginnings of Akko's magic swirl around them both, like a tiny whirlpool in a larger stream. _"Munita Sum!"_

There was a flicker of light on the tip of Akko's wand that slowly spiraled outward, forming a ghostly purple buckler on Akko's forearm. The shield gleamed with a six-pointed star on the opaque surface, like a star sapphire. Akko stared at it with big eyes and an even bigger goofy grin, momentarily struck speechless.

"Beautiful." Diana breathed, tapping the shield gently with her own wand. The surface rippled like the surface of a pond, but didn't give way under her probing. When Akko's spells went right they were the most beautiful Diana ever saw. "Well done, Akko. It appears solid enough for use, but I would be happier if you practiced more… first…"

Diana trailed off as she lifted her head and found Akko closer than expected. Akko's cheeks were flushed, and Diana found heat rushing to her face as if to follow suit. Diana only just managed to tug herself away, giving Akko's shield a firm whack with the flat of her hand. That snapped Akko out of her daze, and Diana pretended to ignore the way Akko's cheeks darkened further as she continued: "But I believe that you'll pass muster, at least if you continue the exercises Professor Ursula assigned along with my additions."

The shield dispersed with a murmured _Factum_ , leaving Akko shuffling in place and looking everywhere but Diana. Then she lunged and gripped Diana's wrist, tugging her into a her into a tentative hug that tightened when Diana didn't immediately pull away. Perhaps she would have if Akko's voice weren't so hoarse with emotion when she finally spoke. "Thanks Diana. I know you said it was only for that one time, but you kept helping me and it - it really means a lot."

As Akko pulled back Diana hurried to school her expression into something she could live with Akko seeing. Her emotions warred between the feeling of that honest warmth, and the utter uncertainty on how to respond. Thankfully deeply engrained social graces kicked in, prompting her to smile faintly. "It's entirely the result of you own effort Akko, I merely facilitated."

Akko laughed, rubbing at the back of her neck. "You did a lot more than you think."

"I have an exam tomorrow evening." Diana continued finally, when Akko didn't say anything further. Her face was hot enough to light a candle, and she wasn't certain why. "I - I won't be available for a while after that so don't wait for me. Keep up with your reading and exercises, and you should be able to catch up all on your own."

Akko's face lit up with a broad grin. "Aww, I didn't know you had so much faith in me, Diana."

Diana's heart skipped a beat.

Oh. Oh no.


	5. the passing days

Some days were just doomed to suck. Some days just screamed that it was better to roll over, go back to sleep, and wait for the bad weather to blow past. Of course Akko rarely heeded those warnings, and today she was starting to wish she had.

"Akko."

She was up to her knees in clinging, stinking mud, with warm water sloshing around in her boots and air so humid it made her clothes stick to her skin. In short it was gross. It was _so gross._ Of course basically any assignment from Professor Lukić usually was, especially when she had that wide, creepifying grin while giving it.

"Ak **ko**."

Akko turned sharply, only to reel back to just narrowly avoid running face first into Lotte. Her big glasses were steamed up from the humidity, and her hair stuck comically in every direction. Akko giggled, and that earned a glare from the other girl. Lotte drew herself up as tall as she could, even though her arms were wrapped tight around her skull lantern.

"Akko, we're never going to find a mandrake in time this way." The bag at Lotte's back bulged with plants samples gathered from the list Lukić provided, but the assignment was to find _all_ the plants on the list within the time limit. And one still eluded them.

"We would if _someone_ could fly on a broom." Sucy's voice came from further back. She seemed to be having the least issue with the slime - even now Akko could see her using a knife to scrape mushrooms from the tree trunks.

"We aren't even _allowed_ to use brooms for this assignment!"

Sucy flashed Akko a sharp smile, saying with a sing-song voice: "Like that's ever stopped us before~ _Oh_ , hen-in-the-woods."

Akko didn't even want to know how Sucy was planning on fitting that weird giant mushroom in her bag. Lotte was still watching her anxiously, mimicked by the spirit occupying her skull lantern. Akko shuffled in place, trying to ignore the feeling of her boots sinking even deeper into the mud. "Well if you don't know how to use the waypoint spell, and Sucy doesn't either… I dunno how else we're gonna find it."

Lotte's eyes slid sideways, and she shrank a little in that way they did before she was about to dump an unhappy truth on Akko's head. "U-um Akko, couldn't… you just do it?"

That made Akko's insides twist unpleasantly. It was hard to explain when she tried to think about it, like when she tripped and couldn't quite catch herself in time. She never was one to lack confidence, and she had been steadily improving, but her spells exploded in her face _so often._ She didn't want to show it, but even her optimism couldn't hold up forever.

Lotte was watching her steadily. Sucy was watching too, out of the corner of her eyes like a cat. Maybe you couldn't call it faith, but they were always willing to let Akko try. They were always ready to run through fire with her, and pull her out when things got too bad.

She thought of Diana's patient corrections; Diana's quiet, firm voice filling the training room. Despite everything she didn't think Akko was too stupid to do the magic. She took time out of her own practice to help, and even in the days of silence that followed Akko knew in her heart that it meant something.

When her own faith wasn't enough this was what got her through: Lotte, Sucy, and Professor Ursula, and by some weird chance, Diana. She wanted so badly to be worthy of their belief.

Akko flicked out her wand with a flourish, mentally sounding out the spell in her head even as she searched out the leylines under her feet. This place was really nasty, but she was surprised to find that the magic here was close at hand. Unlike the worn-thin magic outside the school or the deep, sleepy feeling around Luna Nova, this magic frothed and twisted like rapids.

"Expiscor!" Akko opened her eyes, and nearly fell over in her excitement. "I did it!"

Akko bounced in place, energy renewed by her success. The wand hovered perfectly balanced over her open palm, spinning lazily this way and that like a weathervane. Sparks occasionally spat from the tip of her wand to skip over the surface of the oily water like dragonflies, flickering and fading once they wandered too far from their place of origin.

"Whoa, good job Akko!" Lotte visibly perked up now that they had some kind of lead.

Akko closed her eyes and tried to focus on the image of a mandrake, remembering the one that from her first day at Luna Nova. These kinds of spells were a lot harder for Akko, they fumbled through her thoughts like a test question she couldn't quite answer. They didn't come as naturally as the more physical spells. Which… wasn't really saying much, admittedly.

Even so, Akko did her best. Magical creatures drew their life force directly from the leylines, so all she had to do was look for that weird tickly feeling. It was kind of like a _tug_ on her thoughts, drawing her attention to the right places. When Akko opened her eyes the wand was pointing resolutely to the left, where the vines and twisted trees tangled together into dense knots and snarls. Dark, creepy, and full of magic flowers that wanted to eat them.

Akko clenched her fists, huffing loudly at her own reluctance. She could do this! She was going to do this! The bit of forest up ahead was dense and dark, not allowing a single finger of light to peek through. It was more than a little scary - all her reading in the library bringing to mind tons of terrifying monsters that would like to strip the flesh from her bones.

"Are we going to stand here all day?" Sucy drawled, somehow managing to walk through the water without leaving so much as a ripple in the dark surface, "I've run out of things to pick here."

"Yeah we're gonna go! Totally!"

"...Are you sure you want to - Akko, wait! Akko!"


	6. the ground beneath our feet

Their wooden boat glided silent through the water, slowly navigating the maze of trees and roots under Barbara's watchful guidance. She was no less a skilled caster than her girlfriend, but her nature wasn't well suited for combat. On the other hand Hannah's wand was at the ready, the pale blue of her magic throwing her face into sharp relief.

"This is the creepiest." Barbara muttered unhappily, gesturing with her wand so that the boat slipped around a floating log. "Like, what did we do to deserve this?"

"Most of this stuff she could buy at a shop in town." Hannah agreed, propping her chin on her hand with a sour expression. The small trunk at her feet was bristling with parts gathered - humanely, Diana insisted - from magical creatures that lived in the swamp. "I think she's using us for free grocery shopping."

"Regardless of her reasons, she is a teacher. We must complete this assignment with our usual decorum, girls." Her attention was trained on the wand hovering in her hand, and occasionally she gestured at Barbara to adjust their course.

Hannah just wrinkled her nose at that, but Barbara looked sheepish at the subtle chiding.

Navigating wasn't a job that left much time for thought, but Diana found herself distracted regardless. It had been almost a month since she last worked with Akko on her spellcasting, and there was a visible improvement in her ability. Not just in spells Diana personally tutored her on, but new material they learned in class. The fact that she cast an excited grin in _Diana's_ direction whenever one of her spells succeeded wasn't good for her heart. The realization that she was _attracted_ to Akko Kagari of all people was unfortunate, but nothing Diana couldn't weather - plenty of people were attractive. It didn't have to mean anything.

Diana wasn't so out of it that she didn't notice the atmosphere change. The trees drew closer and more tangled on either side, so that the sides of their boat scraped against the dark-barked trees.

The fog seemed to creep out of all the dark corners, rendering their surroundings indistinct and strange.

There was a flurry of splashes out in the water, followed by the low grunts and growls of something alive. Barbara shifted closer to Hannah, her eyes widening with concern. Hannah's hand settled over hers as a matter of course, and she squeezed the other girl's hand for added reassurance.

"Barbara."

"Yes, Diana?" Barbara's voice was a squeak.

"Please continue directing the boat. We can trust Hannah will counter anything that comes out of that fog." Diana kept her voice calm and even, but even so Barbara jumped at the realization she'd allowed the boat to come to a stop. Diana felt the strain too - there was something deeply uncomfortable about being essentially wandless in potentially hostile territory. Regardless of her feelings they couldn't afford to be without a navigator, and she had the best mastery of _Expiscor_.

"Hey Barb, maybe you better slow down?" Hannah's voice cut into her thoughts, alerting Diana to the fact that they had been slowly picking up speed since the fog rolled in. Diana didn't have time to say anything before a figure moved in the water, and Barbara let out an unbecoming squeal. Rather than slowing down the boat started to shake violently, and then - a loud thump and an indignant yelp of pain.

Diana knew that voice. She leaned forward just in time for Akko to lift her head, and found herself nose to nose with Akko. Her dark brown eyes filled Diana's vision, and Diana felt the phrase "fuckaruck" with every fiber of her being. Thankfully Akko leaned away on her own, whining with exaggerated hand motions.

"Geeze Diana, why did you guys get a boat? I'm starting to get pruny."

"Diana made it." Hannah said with a smirk, preening as if it were her own accomplishment.

Barbara propped her chin on Hannah's shoulder, looking down her nose at the mud-covered Akko. "It just goes to show the difference between you t -"

"We don't have time for this, girls." Diana said firmly, irritation struggling to surface on her face. " _Please_ focus on the task before us."

As fortune would have it, Sucy glided into view with a red-faced, puffing Lotte in tow. Akko's anger was momentarily banished by something akin to fear, as they all simultaneously realized Lotte looked like she could spit nails. "A-Akko, you shouldn't… you shouldn't leave us behind you _dummy_ , what would we do if something ate you?"

"Eat popcorn." Sucy had the good sense not to say anything more when Lotte's cutting look turned briefly on her. Even so her amused gaze wandered between them, eating up the tension between the two teams.

Even Hannah and Barbara didn't say a word as Lotte marched up and grabbed Akko's hand, tugging her away from the boat. "Let's _go_."

"Okay, Lotte," Akko had that puppy-miserable look on her face, as if her whole being was dejected. Diana wasn't really used to Akko sounding so meek. "The wand says we should go this way."

That expression was surprisingly cute. Motion drew her gaze down to her hand and she watched, half-horrified, as her wand followed Akko as she walked past. Then Akko stopped, and Diana's heart jumped into her mouth.

"That's weird, it's not… pointing… oh." Akko followed the line of her own wand and met Diana's eyes, a flush spreading high across her cheekbones. Diana could have enjoyed it more if her own wand weren't revealing where her thoughts had wandered during their search.

Sucy snickered, a hand coming up to her cheek in mock shock. "Ohhh, this is getting interesting."

"Uhhh… like, guys…"

Diana felt her stomach drop. It wasn't as if liking another girl was odd by witch standards - if anything, Luna Nova had a bit of a reputation - but even being attracted to a "commoner" was grounds for all sorts of rumors and unsavory implications. She couldn't afford that. But when she turned to face her friends she found them clinging to each other, pale-faced with horror.

As always, Hannah continued where Barbara could not, lifting her trembling hand to point her wand at something behind Diana. When Diana whirled to attack, it took a moment to even register what she was seeing: vines weaving between the trees at breakneck speed, enclosing them on every side like a basket.

The next few moments were a blur of explosions and shouting - all of them desperately firing every offensive spell they could think of at the wall of wood and leaves. No matter how much they blasted and burned it just grew back. _Diana didn't know._ She didn't know what this was, or how it could be defeated. All she knew was animal fear as the vines closed in overhead, cutting off the last vestiges of light.

The last thing she felt was a muddy hand gripping at her wrist, so tight that it was painful.

And then the ground dropped out from underneath their feet.

* * *

A/N: Guess who's been writing instead of studying for exams? Keep a look out guys, I'm gonna post an AU sometime soon. It's a doozy.


	7. falling

Akko didn't have time to think before the ground dropped from under her feet. It was reflex that drove her to grab at Diana. Some combination of an instinctive fear of falling and the fact that over many months of broom practice, Diana always caught her before she hit the ground.

Even now Diana tried. The first syllables of a slow-fall spell were knocked silent from sharp collision with a wall, which sent her and Akko flying, crashing into walls and each other. Akko could hear her wheezing gasps for air. In the chaos only one thought was clear and solid: It was up to Akko to catch her this time.

All she could manage was to yank Diana closer and pull her tight against her chest, shouting a spell that Diana taught her for when she fell from her broom. Instead of slowing their fall it made them bounce harmlessly against the walls, like a really crappy rubber ball. The one saving grace was that Diana likely wouldn't remember the ridiculous rubber ducky squeaks that the spell gave off with every collision, all the long, long way down.

By the time they landed with a heavy thump - Diana knocking the wind out of Akko's lungs a second time - Akko was so motion sick all she could do was roll over and puke her guts out. It took another long moment before she could push herself up on shaky hands and knees. Everything hurt, making her hiss with every movement.

She patted at the other girl's cheek, hoping to sense injury by touch alone. "Diana? Are you okay, Diana?"

"J-just use a light spell. Do you - you still have your wand?" Diana managed, her lips moving under Akko's palm. Akko jerked her hand away, and nearly cried with relief when her hand landed on the grip of her wand.

Her first two attempts fizzled out, but the third erupted in a blinding flurry of tiny spheres the size of golf balls, glittery pink things that flitted in wild spirals like angry bees. Akko cursed and cut off the spell, shivering with a sudden frustration so great that she could hear her own teeth grinding together. _Just once, please let it work just once._ Her third attempt resulted in only a handful of the same orbs, but they hovered properly, even if they drifted this way and that as if nudged by a breeze.

Diana's whisper summoned a small light with the same spell, a larger and steadier orb of soft blue. The small light threw Diana's face into dramatic shadow, one side of her face sticky with a mix of blood and marsh muck. She pushed away Akko's concerned hands without a word, sitting up with a hand pressed to her temple. "Where are we?"

The tunnel was just barely wide enough for Akko and Diana to stand side by side, the roof just a smidge higher than the top of Diana's head. The walls, floor, and ceiling were so densely lined with roots that barely any dirt was visible.

"That's... strange." Diana ran her hand over the floor underneath her, then tentatively explored the walls and even ceiling overhead. "We're under a swamp, but there's no water in here. Not even on the floor."

Now that she mentioned it, Akko could see what she meant. Even though their clothes were soaked, the floor was perfectly dry.

"Where do you think the others are?" The tunnel was too small to be the gaping hole they fell through, but she didn't understand how they got in here in the first place. The tunnel didn't have a hole they could have fallen through, it just ended with a subtly curved wall of roots at their backs.

"I don't know." Diana pushed to her feet, barely faltering though she had to be hurting too. "I don't know what any of this is... I've never seen an example in any of my texts."

Diana's one bright, blue orb of light hovered obediently over her wand, while the handful of smaller pink orbs Akko summoned swirled in slow orbit around the larger light. The constantly shifting shadows eventually forced Akko to disband the spell - she was starting to feel nauseous.

"Thank you." Was all that Diana said, her eyes still focused ahead, shoulders tense.

Akko could understand her feelings. The swamp was heavy with the smell of rotting plants and stagnant water, but it was natural, it felt like a real place. Here the scent of wet earth had something underlying. Thick and oppressive, almost cloying in her nose. Were the walls drawing closer? They were headed slowly downward, guided by the gentle pressure of having no other option.

In the half light there was nothing to see but Diana. Akko found it strangely comforting. Diana always knew what to do, as much as it pained Akko to admit it. Between the two of them, they had to be able to find a solution! Whatever was going on, they would be able to face it together. Well, as soon as they found everyone.

As it happened, they didn't have to look much further. They turned the corner and the tunnel opened up into a huge dark space. At a quiet command Diana's little orb of light drifted into the darkness, expanding until its light revealed a writhing thing hanging from the dark ceiling.

It was a man - no a mandrake. The man-shaped root had to be nine feet tall, with no neck and limbs that were too long, splitting at the wrists and ankles into bundles of fibrous roots. It was covered with craggy bark, with a gaping mouth that opened and closed mechanically and huge dark eyes covered in a thin layer of white slime. It was sickening to look at, both too human and too inhuman for comfort.

In the light Akko could make out the glowing object on the other side of the room. The other four members of their team were all together - huddled up at the opening of yet another tunnel, under a gleaming dome that Hannah was producing with Barbara's help. Even from here Akko could see their mouths moving in silent unison to reinforce the spell they were casting.

Diana started in place, lifting her wand and crying out a complex chain of syllables Akko couldn't dream of pronouncing. A silver-blue shield sprung from the wand like an umbrella popping open and settled around them in a dome. Just in time for the mandrake's mouth to open terrifyingly wide, the corners of its mouth splintering under the force of its own cry.

At least, Akko thought that's what was happening. She couldn't hear anything except Diana's panted breathing and her own heartbeat drumming in her ears.

"Akko." Diana's voice was strained, as if she were holding up something really heavy.

Akko snapped to attention. "Yes!"

"I'm going to need your help. I don't know if I can continue on my own."

Normal spellcasting required only a little energy from the witch herself, just enough to maintain a connection with the leylines. What made doing a lot of magic difficult was learning how to channel it in the right way. On the other hand what made doing a lot of magic hurt? What made it tiring? That was something else entirely - the minute Akko's hand touched Diana's shoulder every hair on her body stood on end, like static electricity only far, far stronger.

"Diana!"

" _What?_ What do you want, Akko?"

"It's too - that's too much! You don't need that much for this spell!"

"What do you know? D-d-do you even - even know what this spell _is_?" Her breath was starting to come in short hiccups, both hands white knuckled on her wand.

She would be the first person to admit that she wasn't very observant. Yet even to Akko, Diana's fear was raw in her voice, making her waver where she normally wouldn't. It felt wrong on a visceral level. In Akko's mind Diana was above all else a strong figure. She was sometimes jealous of that fact but it was _a fact_.

Akko wrapped her arms around Diana's waist and tugged her close so that her back was pressed tightly to Akko's front. Even knowing Diana's most jealously guarded secret - that she was human - it hadn't occurred to Akko that Diana could be afraid. "Calm down. You don't have do it all by yourself. Let's do this together!"

The mandrake's screaming continued on and on beyond their little bubble. Clearly it didn't need to breathe, which was threatening in its own way. She could feel those empty eyes boring into them and it made her shiver, clasping Diana more firmly. There were dark things lurking just beyond their circle of light, but Akko believed in Diana. She just needed Diana to believe in Akko too. It was a long moment before Diana spoke again.

"I'm beginning to think you're either too brave or stupid to be afraid of anything, Akko."

There was no venom behind the words. If anything it almost sounded like a compliment was buried in there somewhere.

"Heh, that's what Sucy's always telling me."

Bit by bit Diana relaxed in her grip, and Akko felt some of the power start trickling through her instead. When she was a tiny kid Akko stuck a fork in a power outlet. She remembered that startling jolt going from her hands down to her feet, so sudden that it startled her into tears.

It felt a lot like this - not pain exactly, but a force running through her feet and up into Diana's back, whisked away before it could become even the illusion of pain. But she knew that it wouldn't last. The longer they channeled magic the more it would burn through them, and the more it would hurt. Akko hadn't understood at first, but now she knew that magic was as much physical as mental. The amount of magic they were using slowly levelled off, the stirring magic around them becoming the quiet ripple Akko associated with Diana's casting.

"This is your fault isn't it?"

Akko flinched, those words landing like a slap. "What?"

Diana seemed to realize how that sounded, because her next words were gentler. "Look up, Akko."

She did, and it took a few long moments for the sight to even register. When it was only Diana casting, the bubble was textbook: smooth and blue, like the inside of a leyline tunnel. Now it glowed like a soap bubble, oily slicks of pink and yellow and green swimming over the surface.

"Oops."

"Oops." Diana agreed dryly. Her voice seemed calmer now, more steady. More like herself. 'You really can't help yourself, can you?"

"Prooobably… nnnno?" Was there a right answer to that?

Diana sighed, less irritated and more... _fond_. "I'm back to my senses, Akko. You can… release me."

Akko became aware of several things simultaneously: Underneath the sweat, blood, and dirt, Diana smelled like something bright and floral and improbably delicate. She was super warm and soft in Akko's arms. And that Akko had by some traitorous instinct, had rested her cheek between Diana's shoulder blades. It was like Akko could almost forget everything outside this small space. It felt dangerous.

She let go reluctantly, and instead settled both of her hands on Diana's shoulders to provide less intimate support. There was however, one really bad feature of Akko's brain that had a habit of ruining her day. She had never been good at keeping what she was thinking from falling right out of her mouth.

"You smell really good, Diana."

Akko was ready to throw herself out of the bubble and take her chances with the mandrake. Instead she felt the other girl's shoulders shaking under her hands, making her insides twist up. At best all she could hope for was a scathing remark.

Instead Diana glanced over her shoulder with bright, bright blue eyes, the barest smile playing on her lips. In this dark place, wounded and tired and afraid… she was _laughing_. "Really Akko? You don't have any sense of timing at all, do you?"

Wow. Akko opened her mouth and closed it again.

Diana squared her shoulders under Akko's hands, every bit of her focus aimed at the mandrake like a notched arrow. "We'll have a talk about your impropriety later. For now we're in the middle of some trouble. I have a plan. Are you ready?"

Akko could only nod - and then remembered that Diana couldn't see that. "Yeah! Let's do this!"


	8. follow where she goes

Hannah and Barbara were excellent casting partners: capable, stable, and powerful enough together to support Diana's most ambitious spells. Akko wasn't as skilled, but she at least relieved the weight of a spell too great to carry alone.

Diana could breathe a little.

"We need to get to Sucy."

"That's your plan?!" Akko said a little too close and loud, making Diana flinch at her volume. "Just - just 'get to Sucy'?"

"Sucy is a gifted botanist. Surely you noticed your own roommate's hobbies?"

"Yeah." Akko's voice at her back sounded suspiciously sulky. "But I thought your plan would be cooler after all that."

Of course she would think that. "You're welcome to suggest a better course of action."

Akko huffed, but didn't say anything further. It was fortunate, because Diana wasn't in any state for a shouting match.

"That's what I thought." Diana said, more amused than angry. If Akko wasn't spilling her thoughts out of her mouth like a faucet it wasn't Akko. "...But we can't walk there like this."

Diana grabbed one of Akko's hands off her shoulder and pulled the other girl to stand beside her, and was pleased to find the connection was surprisingly stable.

Hannah and Barbara were excellent casting partners. This felt different. It was… warm, and close. Like walking side by side, shoulders bumping playfully. It was their magic tangling together like their fingers were now. It felt like things Diana didn't have the words to express for herself, but she felt it all the same.

Diana took a deep breath, peering down the steep slope. Her summoned orbs skimmed along the surface, but the tiny pools of light revealed little more than tangled roots and stone. Here and there she could see what looked like gnarled roots writhing and grasping, waiting for prey to pass by and be ensnared. She shivered.

"Okay! We've got this!" It was of course Akko that took that first step, and Diana found herself willingly following the other girl into the dark. It wrapped around them heavy and deep, steeped in a hunger that was almost palpable. Diana wasn't above fear. She found herself more grateful than ever for the coarse, sweaty hand in hers.

It wasn't long before she heard Akko talking quietly.

At first she almost thought that Akko was casting a spell, but she quickly realized it was a soft chant. _We've got this, we've got this._ Diana felt an odd little twinge in her chest. So she wasn't quite fearless after all? Diana squeezed her hand and tugged Akko closer, taking comfort in her presence and the quiet rise and fall of her voice. A shield against fear as real as any magic.

* * *

It was a long walk, a stumbling, fearful journey, but it was bearable. Diana felt unaccountably like they would survive this… but then Akko always was good at making the impossible seem within reach.

"Lotte, Sucy! Are you okay?" Akko called over the remaining distance, flailing her free arm around frantically. Roots probed at the surface of the shield but Akko didn't show much concern. Diana still wasn't sure if that was bravery or stupidity.

As they drew closer Diana let out a sigh of relief.

Hannah and Barbara looked the worse for the wear. They were covered with dark bruises, with matted, muddy hair and matching bloody noses. Barbara's left arm was clutched tight against her chest, her face drawn and pale with pain. Her eyes looked inward - Diana could only guess what battle she was fighting to keep the barrier stable. But they were alive, and that was better than she feared.

Akko's teammates were far better off, albeit covered in a fine gray powder that looked suspiciously like mushroom spores. She suspected that she didn't want to know how Sucy had cushioned their fall. As they crossed the boundary of Hannah and Barbara's spell Diana allowed theirs to fall with a sense of deep relief.

"We found this room first." Hannah said sheepishly as they approached, a little too loudly for the enclosed space. Her ears must have been injured before she managed to throw up the spell.

"Well done, that was some quick thinking."

"What." Hannah's face flushed.

"It was because of you that I realized what was happening before we were injured. It's an incredibly difficult spell. You did well."

Hannah's face creased and she drew Barbara closer to her chest. Even if Diana hadn't known them for years, it was clearly written on her features: _I could have done a lot better._

"I'm glad you three are having a nice chat, but shouldn't we worry more about being killed?" Sucy was blasé as ever, watching the mandrake with analytical interest.

"I don't see you doing anything, you -"

Diana lifted a hand to cut Hannah off before she could start an argument, which made both girls give her a dirty look. It didn't sway her in the slightest. "Our goal is before us, girls. You can settle your petty argument later if you like, but please don't waste our time with it now."

"So," she continued, doing her best to dare them to interrupt with her eyes alone, "Sucy, can you tell us how to get out of here? You have the best grasp of magical botany in our year, even if your grades don't reflect it. I need you to tell us how to make that thing stop."

"It's screaming because it wants to stun and eat us alive." Sucy wrapped her arms around herself with a visible shiver.

 _Ew._ Diana did her best to block that stupid, toothy grin from her memory. Best if she didn't consider it too hard. "Please focus, Manbavaran."

Sucy glared, pursing her lips sourly. "Rude."

Her best deadpan expression didn't sway Sucy, the other girl just rolled her eyes and continued.

"If we want to make that thing quiet down we need to -" she broke off with an excited giggle, eyes gleaming with eagerness - "we need to harvest it. But it's too big to pull up like a turnip, isn't it? So we'll have to cut it off at the root. Just above the head."

"We have to cut _that_?" Akko's eyes were wide as she leaned far back to try and catch a glimpse of the central stem. It wasn't even visible. "I wish Amanda were here."

"Amanda?" The comment stung, though Diana chose not to think too hard on why.

"Yeah, she could fly up there and cut it easy! With all that spinning and flipping she does."

She wasn't really wrong, Diana admitted reluctantly. Though the space was large it didn't allow much room for maneuvering on a broom, and the twisting roots jutting from the walls suggested that whoever tried to reach the mandrake wasn't going to have an easy time. It was true that Amanda could flit through easily as a bird, but agility wasn't what they needed here.

" _I_ am more than sufficient for this," Diana said firmly, straightening her shoulders. She prayed that it was true, because her ribs still ached and her head throbbed. There was no magic to spare between the members of the blue team, and she would sooner allow the mandrake to cast a healing spell than let any member of the red team give it a go.

"Lotte, Sucy, can either of you transform your wand into a broom?"

"I - I don't think so Diana, my transformation spells aren't very good…" Lotte fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, unable to look up from the ground.

"I can _get_ you one," Sucy drawled, already reaching for a small velvet sack tied to Lotte's pack. She untied a small bag from Lotte's pack and shoved her hand inside, all the way up to her shoulder and continued until her head was swallowed up as well. Thoughtful noises emerged from the bag as she rooted around for a few moments. After a long moment she emerged, broom in hand, with a satisfied sound.

"You were giving me a hard time about having to walk when you could do _that_?"

Sucy's eyes slid away from Akko, and there was a moment of silence before she said dryly. "I thought it would be safer."

Lotte looked at the sack in Sucy's hand, then back to her own pack bulging with medicinal plants. "I've been carrying this around all day."

If Diana had to peg one of the red team for having a temper, she certainly wouldn't have picked Lotte. But even Sucy, unflappable in the face of a horrifying magical monstrosity, faltered under a surprisingly fierce glare. Diana had the feeling those two were going to have a little chat later.

"A-anyway,' Sucy continued, her expression sobering, "this mandrake has to be old. Very old, and the magic here made it strong, but the soil here is poor. If it gets a chance it'll kill us and use us for fertilizer. What a clever plant."

"Could you _be_ any creepier?" Hannah said, and Barbara crinkled her nose in agreement.

Without a word, without changing her expression, Sucy tugged a small curved knife from the sack. She ignored Hannah's squeak of surprise, instead flipping the blade in her hand and offering the handle to Diana. She tilted her head and smiled slowly, all teeth and sly amusement. "I'm rooting for you two, you know?"

Diana became abruptly and painfully aware that she was still holding Akko's hand.

She met Sucy's eyes, shoving the knife into her belt next to her wand. "I know."

Diana accepted the broom with her free hand, and realized to her alarm that a smile was tugging at her lips. Maybe it was the knock on the head, maybe it was the remnants of Akko's magic hanging around her shoulders like a warm coat. But she could feel her own magic welling up inside, urging her upward like great wings unfolding.

"Akko."

"Yes - yeah?"

Akko was looking at her with something dangerously akin to admiration, with a slowly seeping cut on her forehead and dirt smeared on her cheeks. It didn't have to mean anything. It was minor deception, a willful misunderstanding of the butterflies caged in her ribs. She squeezed Akko's hand and was gratified when the other girl blushed. It didn't have to mean anything, but it was meaning more by the day.

"I need you to shield us while I fly." Diana met Akko's eyes solidly, trying to communicate the need for this. "Can you do that for me?"

She was gratified to see the other girl nod. Akko's eyes were so focused and clear in that moment, when she set her mind on a goal with every ounce of her formidable spirit.

"Diana, you can't be serious!" Barbara was pale-faced in Hannah's arms, her injured wrist cradled between them. The shield around them wavered with her distress.

 _I always am._ The words caught in Diana's throat. Her two best friends in the world - cowardly and unkind and utterly loyal - looked at her with the same resolve. As if they would hold this decaying shield together with everything they had so long as she didn't leave their protection. She had never really seen them before this moment.

They shared a surprised glance when Diana knelt in front of them, but she couldn't blame them for that. Didn't she hold them at a careful distance, as if they were strangers?

"It's a testament to your ability that this spell is holding," Diana said gently, gesturing to the dome. The slow spiral of magic wrapping around them was characteristic of the two, as the magic passed back and forth rather than one caster supporting the other. It fascinated Diana to this day, as it had when they were young. "Wait for us here, and protect these two won't you? Trust me."

They always listened when it came to the important things, but she could see both of them struggling. Barbara buried her face in Hannah's chest and muttered something Diana couldn't hear, but it made Hannah nod resolutely. She looked up at Diana with every bit of the bravery she possessed, even though her hands were white-knuckled in the back of Barbara's shirt.

"We can hold it for a while longer, but - Diana be careful."

Diana let out a sigh of relief. "...Thank you, girls."

It took some maneuvering in the slowly shrinking circle, but eventually she and Akko were situated on Sucy's knobbly broom. Akko's arms wrapped firmly around her waist and magic swirled around them both, close and closer. Diana could feel the moment it crystallized, the moment it changed from pure energy into _Akko's_ magic. Their voices rose together, Akko following Diana's pronunciation of the spell unerringly.

It pained Diana to ignore the way Akko pressed tight against her back, the choked noise when she allowed the weight of the spell to fall on Akko alone. Akko's arms tightened almost painfully around her waist, but other than a quiet hiss Akko didn't complain.

 _Quick._ She had to be quick.

"Tia Freyre!" They rocketed off the ground fast enough to make air explode outward, chips of wood flying out from the point of impact. Time seemed to slow, contracting to Akko's strained breathing against her back and the roots that whipped around them, ricocheting off the shield with loud cracks.

Diana ripped the knife out of her belt, clenching her teeth to brace herself for what they had to do. She shouted over the wind, over the pulse heavy in her ears. "Akko, drop the shield!"

"What?!"

"Just trust me, let the spell go!"

She felt Akko's arms tighten around her waist, and for a moment Diana was afraid that the other girl would refuse. Her own power was waning, the orbs of light that held back the dark guttering out as they blew past. Then the power swirling around Akko diverted to her, the shield crumbling as they poured their joint power into the broom.

There were no words for the mandrake's scream - less sound than pure, blinding pain wracking through her body. She could see the mandrake's piercing eyes glowing in the dark, burning with ancient malice. Diana thrust out her arm to the side with the knife outstretched, shouting spells that magically reinforced and lengthened the blade, making it burn a brilliant, icy blue. Together they were a shooting star, a blinding blade in the dark.

* * *

A/N: There are probably some issues with this chapter but I'm sick of looking at it so you get it anyway! Hopefully the gay will console you through any ridiculously obvious grammar errors. :P


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